Overhead garage door systems are widely used in both residential and commercial applications, and are designed to be operated either manually or automatically through a reversible motor. Overhead garage doors typically include a series of interconnected door panels which are connected along their longitudinal edges by one or more hinges to provide pivotal movement of the door panels between vertical and horizontal positions as is known in the art. The door panels typically include a series of roller brackets mounted on opposite sides of the door panels for supporting a series of rollers. The rollers travel in a pair of continuous tracks mounted on opposite sides of a door frame which guide movement of the door panels between the vertical and horizontal positions.
Overhead garage door panels typically include two or more spaced door stiles mounted vertically on each door panel to support various hardware components of the garage door system and to add additional strength and rigidity to the panels. These hardware components may include, for example, hinges for providing pivotal movement at each joint between adjacent door panels, and roller brackets for supporting the rollers which travel within the opposite pair of door tracks. Typically, hinges and roller brackets are attached to the door stiles through fasteners, such as rivets, screws and bolts for example, to provide an interconnection of components which can withstand the load and vibrational forces to which the door panels are generally subjected.
Additionally, the door tracks in which the garage door travels are typically mounted through various bracket and fastener assemblies to a door frame. Each door track includes a horizontal track which extends generally parallel to the garage ceiling and has an integral radius section for guiding movement of the garage door between the horizontal and vertical positions. Each door track further includes a vertical track which is mounted generally parallel to the door frame and which forms a linear extension of the radius section which extends from the horizontal track. Depending on the size of the garage door opening and the available overhead room, different horizontal track radiuses are used to accommodate for different installation requirements. That is, one installation may require a ten inch radius on the horizontal track while another installation may require a twelve or fifteen inch radius. Thus, different configurations of horizontal track, i.e., with an integral ten, twelve or fifteen inch radius, for example, must be properly selected for a particular installation.
Due to the size and weight of the overhead garage door components, and the general complexity associated with their assembly, overhead garage door systems typically are shipped by the manufacturer to a dealer for assembly at a site by a professional installer. It will be appreciated that the amount of parts which needs to be boxed and shipped by the manufacturer, as well as the length of time required for assembly of the overhead garage door system at each site, is affected by the number of mechanical fasteners included in the overhead garage door system. Moreover, the dealer or installer must carry a greater inventory of parts as the number of unique track components and fasteners in the overhead garage door system is increased.
Accordingly, there is a need in the overhead garage door industry for a connection system which provides for rapid interconnection of garage door components in the field with a reduced number of mechanical fasteners required to accomplish the interconnection. There is also a need for a connection system which provides a reliable interconnection of garage door components while the components are subjected to loads and vibrations during use of the overhead garage door system. Additionally, there is a need for a connection system which is suitable for overhead garage door systems which is relatively easy to manufacture without requiring the formation of complicated mechanical fastening structures on the individual garage door components to provide the interconnection. Moreover, there is a need for an overhead garage door connection system which easily accommodates for changes in the configuration of the garage door system at the installation site.